Parody of extreme?

Following the recent piece on reconciliation I also wanted to explore what exactly is ‘parity of esteem’ as contained within the 98 Agreement.

Article 1(v) of the British- Irish Agreement state:

….the power of the sovereign government with jurisdiction [in Northern Ireland] shall be exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions and shall be founded on the principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social, and cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all citizens, and of parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos, and aspirations of both communities

In short, my interpretation of parity of esteem is about mutual recognition, respect, and fair treatment aiming to balance deeply rooted identities in a divided society. I think that this can generally be demonstrated by:

Equality of treatment: Both cultural and political identities must be respected equally by public institutions and in governance.

Recognition of identity: Individuals have the right to identify themselves as British, Irish, or both, and this must be respected.

No dominance: Neither community should dominate the other – power-sharing and mutual respect are core to the Agreement.

Human rights and fairness: It reinforces broader commitments to human rights, equality legislation, and anti-discrimination efforts.

The practical implications of this might then further be broken down into (inter alia)

Protection of cultural rights and symbols.
Fair political representation.
Equal access to public services and opportunities.
Respect for the right to identify as British, Irish, or both, and hold associated citizenship

In respect of the first point above, in my opinion one of the great successes of the Agreement has been the Parades Commission. Established under the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998 the duties of the PC are

To promote greater understanding by the general public of issues concerning public processions.
To promote and facilitate mediation as a means of resolving disputes concerning public processions.
To keep itself generally informed as to the conduct of public processions and protest meetings.

While there was a fair amount of resistance to the PC by the OO, the Black and ABOD it’s now generally accepted that the PC and now the arbitrator of contentious marches when rights of marchers and opposing groups clash.

It’s the wider terms of equality of treatment, recognition of identity and no dominance where the problems seem to persist, for example, the decision to deny Kneecap a previously awarded grant based on political opinion was blatantly contrary to the spirit of parity of esteem as I understand it. Likewise there are controversial issues regarding English/Irish bilingual signage on Belfast streets and public transport hubs. In political terms we also have the issue of how some of the outcomes and consequences of the UK wide Brexit vote square with the principle of parity of esteem in the North and the perception that some communities are being left behind by the political process and consequently being denied the tenets of fairness and equality inherent in the concept of parity of esteem.

I really don’t know how these circles are squared.